Who or what is a backpacker? A backpacker is a person who combines hiking and camping into one activity. He packs his stuff in his backpack and off he goes to hike and camp in the backcountry where he might choose to spend one or more nights out there.
A backpacker’s gear should include food, shelter and clothes appropriate for the trip. There are countless camping and hiking gear that are available in the market today that could make the life of a happy camper easy: waterproof tent, clothes and shoes; every known insect repellant, solar charger, water sterilization kits and more.
Up in the mountains with your essentials
It is important to have clean and bacteria-free drinking water especially when trekking to unknown parts. The World Health Organization attributes 80% of all travel diseases to unclean and contaminated drinking water.
Fresh clear water found in the mountains and forest does not mean “clean” water. Times have changed. The environment has changed. What used to be clean is now quite dirty. You can never be too sure the water you scooped up from that seemingly clear brook is bacteria and disease free. It is best to play safe and filter water.
One of the best brands of portable water filters is Katadyn. The brand has the Backcountry series of water filters that is ideal for backpacking, trekking and camping. There are models for this series: the Katadyn Hiker and the Katadyn Vario EU.
Katadyn Hiker
Katadyn Vario EU
Katadyn
Filters
The Hiker is the most popular and best selling microfilter in the outdoor market category in the USA. The water filter is lightweight, easy to use and its compact design is best for all around user. What makes this unit popular is its pleated cartridge that makes pumping fast and easy. The Hiker has the capacity to pump and filter for 1 to 2 persons while on a backpack or trek tour. The Hiker has an anti-clog technology that has a 0.3 micron glassfiber activated carbon granulate that needs no cleaning. The Hiker comes with a prefilter, a bottle adapter and a carry bag.
Katadyn Hiker is easy to use
Another Katadyn Backcountry series model is the Katadyn Vario EU. Highly efficient, the Vario is easy to handle and operate. It has three filter levels to assure you of the cleanest and bacteria-free water possible in a short time. The three levels of filters are: a glass fiber filter, a ceramic pre-filter adjustable to the water’s cloudiness, and an active charcoal for eliminating odors.
Katadyn Ceramic filters have silver impregnated micro porous structure that delays the growth of bacteria. The pore size of the ceramic filters is 0.0002 mm or 0.2 micron. Bacteria size range is from 0.2 to 5 micron while protozoa is from 1 -15 micron. Both are effectively filtered out by the Ketadyn ceramic filters.
This water filter can process two liters of drinking water per minute using just the glass fiber and the active charcoal filter. For cloudy water, the pre-filter can be fitted in. The Vario EU is compatible with most of the standard outdoor bottle and hydration bladders in the market.
